Student vaccination faces hard sell

The Ministry of Health and Wellness may face an uphill battle in convincing parents and guardians to have students inoculated during its weekend vaccination blitz targeting children aged 12 to 18.

The Holness administration is moving to avert disruptions to the start of the new academic year in September amid a tsunami of coronavirus infections sweeping the country. Face-to-face classes, aborted for most schools since March 2020, are viewed as key to restoring ground after months of learning loss from online instruction.

The blitz, which starts on Saturday, is part of the Government’s ambitious bid to vaccinate 700,000 persons by the end of September. Jamaica has administered 420,000 doses up to Thursday, according to the ministry’s vaccination tracker, but only 138,044 persons have been fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has been rife in Jamaica and threatens the country’s target of 65 per cent herd immunity by March 2022.

Over in Portmore, Seyma Dyce, mother of two sons – J.D., a 17-year-old, and Khalil, who turns 12 in September when he will start at Bridgeport High School – admits to being perplexed by what she deems has been a plethora of mixed messages.

“The vaccine, yes, it is to protect. Well, not to really protect but to help you cope better with the COVID-19,” she told The Gleaner on Thursday.

“It nuh protect and it nuh cure, so what sense does it make?”

While admitting that she believes that vaccinated persons do stand a greater chance of survival, Dyce is to yet be convinced of the need for her family to take the jab.

At Balmagie Avenue in Waterhouse in St Andrew West Central – Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ constituency – Miss Mary, who has a 12-year-old, took time off from preparing her lunch menu to express her reservations.

“I am a bit scared ‘cause I don’t know if any problem will come up with it because I don’t sure about it because them say it don’t stop the COVID. So why bother get it (vaccine) if it not stopping it (COVID-19)?” she said.

Miss Mary is particularly scared for her daughter, whose sinusitis flares up regularly and who is reportedly afflicted by “other things”. Sinusitis is not among the underlying illnesses that represent a health risk for vaccination.

Across the street, bartender Stephanie, mother of 12-year-old twin boys and a six-year-old, was even more resolute in her conviction not to take the COVID vaccine.

“It still going to be a risk if you take it, so no. It does not prevent it, and so you still going catch it, and you don’t know if the kids have other sicknesses, and it might make them worse,” she said.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has long railed against the anti-vaxxer lobby and insisted on Thursday that the Pfizer vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective for children.

Israel, which has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 vaccination globally, is currently pushing ahead with Pfizer shots for children as young as three years old.

Jamaica received a cache of 208,000 doses of Pfizer on Thursday as part of an overall gift of more than 600,000 doses from the Government of the United States of America.

He also appealed to persons who still have doubts about efficacy to visit the ministry’s vaccination site or to scour the Internet for reliable sources on facts about Pfizer.

“It has gone through all the clinical trials, all the expert assessments, and is deemed to be safe for use in that age cohort across the board. Hence the prioritisation of this cohort is to turn out at our various vaccination sites with their children, beginning this weekend,” Tufton said.

That message may take some time to resonate among residents of Walter Street in Rae Town, central Kingston, including Shanny, the unofficial spokesperson among five unemployed women lounging near a stall at which bulla, pear, and sodas were being sold on Thursday.

All the women said they were opposed to vaccination. One explained that her daughter had multiple health complications, including asthma and heart problems.

Shanny, who has a 20-year-old son but who is guardian for 12- and 14-year-old boys.

“A lot of persons like myself are willing to take the vaccine, but there are certain issues. ... It’s not that people nuh want take it, but persons are afraid because them don’t know what the outcome of it will be,” she told The Gleaner.